Conn. Prepares for More Floods

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(NECN: Brian Burnell, Southbury, Conn.) - People in Connecticut are watching the forecast closely. They're still drying out from flooding earlier in the week, and are preparing for the worst.

This is the Pomperaug River in Southbury, Connecticut and if I'd have been standing here on Monday morning I'd have literally been underwater. People in this neighborhood are afraid they're going to face the same situation tomorrow morning."

Brandon Parker looks over the flood damage to his riverfront house with an insurance adjuster even as more rain moves in. On Monday he had a foot of water in his house.

Brandon Parker, Southbury, CT: "Supposedly this is a hundred year flood so its only supposed to happen every hundred years and it happened in 55."

Everyone looks back at the flood of 55 as the "high water mark", if you will, floods in Connecticut. It wiped out streets in several towns. On the banks of the Housatonic River Joe Cieplak remembers.

Joe Cieplak, Derby, CT: "The 55 flood was obviously much worse. It was over that road. This one was 3 or 4 feet short of the road."

But damaging nonetheless. Several vehicles were washed away and others submerged. There is damage to riverfront buildings and the prospect of more rain overnight Thursday raises the specter or more flooding Friday. What do riverbank dwellers do?

Joe Cieplak, Derby. CT: "You tie up or take out what you can. You try to be prepared. We were caught kind of flatfooted with the other one. We still had a boat in the water. Fortunately it was tied pretty good and we didn't lose it. But we just took it out as you can see because we're thinking this one may be even worse and we don't want to press our luck."

Back in Southbury Joanne Hart says she would have like a little warning about the rising water early Monday morning but it didn't come.

Joanne Hart, Southbury, CT: "Firemen used to come down the road and check on the river all the time with their lights and knock on doors and say 'be aware, be aware'. In the last several years, no. Something has has broken down."

The hope is that the rain earlier in the week melted enough of the snow that the flooding will be less than it was then.